So now we know for sure that Rize– a full ghoul– was bred as a brood mother, most likely to be paired off with Furuta. In an arranged coupling, her sole purpose would be to create more half-ghoul children against her will. All of her strength was just a tool for someone else, to be funneled into a child she wouldn’t want, for a family that denies that they’re just like her.
The psychology behind her binge-eating young men clicks now: it’s her proof that she can “have” whoever she wants, whenever she wants, as many times that she likes– that all her strength is for herself, and that she’s the one in control.
I also think that with Furuta’s misogynist, hyper-masculine quirks, he tried to kill her and take her kagune out of greed and jealousy. If he was promised her, I’d be convinced that he felt that her body belongs to him. It’s his birthright as a man and a Washuu to “dominate” her, so he believes. Things could be even further complicated by the fact that he was nothing but a tool, too; an unloved donor with a purpose greater than himself. Just like Rize.
So, in the course of researching for my latest fic (and I really do hate to tip my hand here, it’s fabulously fun to write and I’m selfish with my knowledge) I’ve been reading up on Sirius, the dog star.
As we know (well, more or less) now, the four stars represent the four blood types.
So we might ask ourselves? Why these four stars? Why does it make more sense to use Sirius as code here, than Vega, Polaris, or Canopus? Or, furthermore, any other star?
Obviously, the dog symbolism is an obvious answer, as Ciel is the Queen’s Watchdog. I have no doubt that Yana knew and intended this.
I suspect, but I’m not quite as confident, that she knew more about Sirius. I’ll start with the least interesting (to me):
In 1844 or 1862, depending on your criteria, it was discovered that Sirius has a small companion star: Sirius B or “the pup.” As far as 2CT goes, I think this is a reasonably interesting bit of trivia.
In Greek mythology, and in a handful of other historical records, the heliacal rising (with the sun) of Sirius–the “dog days” of summer–are associated with pestilence, fever, unease, and evil.
More interesting to me, if a bit less melodramatic: Sirius was thought to bring madness and unease specifically to dogs.
There’s no need for him to emphasize who and what Iis here; unless it’s to keep the dog metaphor fresh in our minds.
A (quite valid) worry was that a mad dog might be rabid; it could bite and infect humans.
Is Ciel in danger of becoming unhinged? Is he a danger to the “real” humans around him? What kind of madness might the Sirius of the Blue Sect bring?
This stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.
Anger
When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, they become frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "How can this happen to me?“; ’"Who is to blame?”; “Why would this happen?”.
Bargaining
The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise.
Depression
“I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”; “I’m going to die soon, so what’s the point?”; “I miss my loved one, why go on?”
The individual despairs at the recognition of their mortality. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.
Acceptance
“It’s going to be okay.”; “I can’t fight it, I may as well prepare for it.” In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.
And I’ll put explanations under a cut so the post won’t be any longer than it already is
i think the only sad thing about the anime is that i wont see these two characters for a long LONG time (and maybe not even then??? i dare not think ;-;)
When you stop to think about it, there are only three explanations for Sebastian being a demon. Either he was created a demon, was a human that somehow became a demon, or was a fallen angel. Of the three, the one I like the least is that he was once human. It’s a possibility, especially with the recent revelation concerning the Shinigami, but I don’t particularly like it for Sebastian. I like him as he is – fully aware of what he is and happy with that. Being human would almost undoubtedly add a level of angst that would take away a bit of Sebastian’s appeal. If I disregard that possibility, that leaves either being born a demon or being a fallen angel. After really looking at the character, I think there’s a strong possibility that he might be a fallen angel. Some of the reasons I believe this are:
* The original demons in the bible were angels that rebelled against God.
* There are a lot of similarities between Sebastian and Mephistophilus in that Mephistophilus was a demon who approached a person after he had turned his back on God and made a contract. Mephistophilus was a fallen angel.
* He makes statements such as how gods are useless. Although I wouldn’t think that any demon would be very fond of gods in general, he almost seems to be speaking from experience. A demon wouldn’t have ever had much interaction with a god.
* He is knowledgeable of the Bible. Before the Easter egg hunt, he’s the only to say the holiday is all about Jesus rising from the tomb. In the anime, he talks about Noah. Lucifer is also said to be very knowledgeable of the Bible as he used verses in the temptation of Christ
– and Lucifer is a fallen angel (or rather THE fallen angel). Honestly, the Bible doesn’t seem like typical reading fare for a demon, and I doubt many of the people that Sebastian’s been around were big readers of the holy word.
* When confronting Grell after Mary Kelly was killed, Sebastian says that he had never met anyone like him in the human world. (Note: In both the sub and dub of the anime he says that he’s never met someone like Grell in the human world. In the print and ebook he says it’s his first time meet someone of Grell’s ilk in the human world. In the scanlation, it simply says he had never met anyone like Grell, but doesn’t add the phrase “in human world,” however the raws appear to refer to the human world. Information courtesy of into–the–abyss) If Sebastian had never met a Shinigami before, he probably would have just said that he had never met anyone like Grell. By adding the phrase “in the human world” seems to indicate that he has seen a Shinigami but just not in the human world. Where would he have seen one? I doubt Shinigami have vacation homes in Hell, and a demon wouldn’t have been allowed in the celestial realms. However, if he had been an angel at one point, he may have come into contact with a Shinigami in their realm.
In one sense it seems odd thinking a demon could have been an angel because of our different typical perceptions between the two, but many angels in the Bible are also shown being more judgmental and having limited sympathy. I could give specific examples, but I’d rather steer away from a theological discussion.
This all leads to another interesting idea: what if the ending of season 1 was foreshadowing the actual planned ending? Think of it this way – if Sebastian is a fallen angel, then maybe we’ve been given to some major clues with the fight with Ash/Angela. In the real ending, Sebastian might be in a battle with an angel, but it would be a battle within himself. This angelic side is both attractive (Angela) and dangerous (Ash). Redemption or being able to become an angel again will be forever out of Sebastian’s reach (Sebastian’s getting his arm cut off) as he will be ‘attacked’ by all the souls he has consumed (the souls that Ash/Angel used to attack Sebastian). In the end he will be victorious over his angelic side, but now he fears he has failed Ciel (Sebastian regretting he couldn’t be the perfect butler until the end when he couldn’t fix Ciel’s tie with one hand), but Ciel is accepting of his fate.
It’s an odd theory to say the least, but only time will tell if any of it is true.
These panels are from chapter 47 of TG, after Kaneki returns to Itori to tell her about his experience with the ghoul restaurant. They end up talking about Rize, since he wanted the information about her in exchange for what he learned. Before we knew anything about Rize and V, the panel struck me as kind of odd because isn’t it a little strange to put focus only on someone’s hand during a conversation?
But looking back on it now, it’s easy to see what the reason is. Itori’s making a V with her fingers (illuminati confirmed). Whether she intentionally did that, I don’t think so, but who knows.
Then there’s the really obvious V reference in the last panel of Souta/Furuta:
After what Eto said in the new chapter, I think we can say Furuta is Souta. What bothers me is that she called him a clown of Kanou, which implies that the Clowns and Kanou are allies.. and it would explain a little more in regards to how Kanou got ahold of Rize after the accident to perform the transplant. I also think that the motivation behind Souta dropping the steel beams on Rize is becoming clearer- Rize escaped from V, V needed to get rid of her. So Souta drops the beams on her, Kanou gets his donor and subject for his experiment, and the clowns get a new subject of entertainment (Kaneki). 2 (3?) birds with one stone. But the plan didn’t really go accordingly, I’m guessing, because Rize is still alive.
I’m glad that some light is finally being shed on some of this stuff, but as he’s doing that, Ishida is opening up more things that need answers. Oh Ishida how are you ever going to wrap up this story..
midnight-in-town 